Where to buy the D300 in Australia?

Its like living in the dark ages. Hardly anyone knows anything about the D300...
Where is the best place to preorder?

$1800US converts to about $2000, yet stores like "Teds" list it for $2900. Perhaps its better to order from somewhere like Amazon??

JC.

If you can live without a warranty (or are prepared to ship the camera back to the US for warranty repairs) then you should order from B&H or Amazon. Vanbar are offering the best "Australian" price that I can find (AUD$2600) but even at that price you could ship the camera to the States and back several times for repair before you'd make up the difference. And considering that you only get 12 months warranty anyway I'm not sure paying 30% more than it'll cost to buy elsewhere is worth it.

I'd prefer to simply buy my kit from a local camera store, but when you're paying 30-50% more for the privilege of having "Australian" stock, I'm not so sure it's worth it.

johnc5 said:

Where is the best place to preorder?
$1800US converts to about $2000, yet stores like "Teds" list it for
$2900. Perhaps its better to order from somewhere like Amazon??

Click to expand...

If you order from overseas, your only warranty is that of the online dealer, which might turn out to be completely worthless. By buying locally you'd get a far more meaningful warranty.

Not that Ted's should be your first or last port of call, though. Shops like Ted's are selling mainly to amateurs & enthusiasts who don't really know when they're getting stung. For example they're still selling the D200 (+18-135mm) for $2,700, which is far more than I paid for mine well over a year ago. I'd also say it's unlikely that they'll be able to fulfill all their pre-orders with their first few shipments. Retail outlets generally only get a handful of units at a time, and they could keep you waiting for months.

If you're in Sydney, try Nikon on Broadway. They mightn't be able to give you a better-than-online price, but they're straight-talking gents and the after-market support is excellent. They'll also give you a much more realistic estimate of availability.

I'm sure almost any camera store would take your order. If they do not know anything about the D300 I'd go elsewhere as they must be living on another planet.

I dropped into one of Adelaide's bigger camera stores today and asked about when they expected the D300 and how much it would cost.

They certainly knew all about it. They told me that they could not yet quote an accurate price but they expect it to be around the upper 2's to 3. They have not yet been "officially" told of the price. They did say they expect deliveries mid November.

Now I couldn't agree more with your comment on the disparity of pricing between the US and what seems to be everywhere else in the world. A quick squiz through many OS stores e.g UK, Europe, Canada etc reveals we are not alone in the extraordinary price difference however no one seems to come close to the disparity here. The Oz price differences are way way beyond mere Import duties (in oz only 10%) and scale of sales. The Oz is currently at 89.3US cents i.e 10%

Take a D300 in the US @ $1799 equates to AU$2037 by Yahoo finance just now. Add 10% GST(import duty) equals 2240. Add another 10% for a generous allowance for the so called lack of scale argument, brings us to AU$2464. There should be no difference in freight as the distances are roughly the same.

Now I've seen the D300 advertised here for a tad over AU$3,200..... this simply does not make sense to me, but I'd bet Mr Nikon Australia's Sydney accountant is very happy. Only trouble is I simply refuse to pay this amount while such a disparity exists.

I have calculated that I could take my kids to Disneyland in the US, buy the D300 and a new VR Nikkor 200-400 while I'm there and "pay" for the trip with the price difference. Mad ain't it!!

I was hoping that when Nikon took over Maxwell's that there would be an improvement but alas it seems even worse.

To me it appears that the rest of the world is subsidising the US and that all the talk about the Global "free trade" is all one way....

End rant .... sorry ... I feel better now.

--
Pete
http://www.boxflat.net

I haven't heard of the lack of scale fee. I thought there is $10 extra for GST plus $60 extra for "processing". It's what the guy at customs told me.

JC.

I think what Peter is referring to (correct me if wrong Peter) is that you often hear claims of "economics of scale" which i believe refers to the larger the population the cheaper things can get sold at due to selling more.

If you ask me, this day and age is all bullocks! It is one huge market nowadays. The only thing they have to do is language translations (and possible the math on how much they can gut each market and get away with it!). Other then that, its free extra money for them. I'm getting so sick of it all!

Sorry for the rant guys. But i'm an aussie thats looking into a D300/40D to step up my hobby now that the DSLR's are finally getting the features i've been waiting for for 4 or so years and its so disheartening to see that its STILL teh same as it was 5+ years ago.

I think i'm going to seriously consider the second posters suggestions as they are spot on! And money isnt something that grows on gum trees like everyone must think it does down here.

--
(o:=-HoffY-=)

Expect to pay about AU $2.800 for the Nikon D300 camera and AU $ 7.300 for the Nikon D3 camera.

ANDREW HODGKINSON

G'day

I have bought lots of lenses from B&H in NY via mail order - with no problems.

I have also shopped here: http://www.d-d-photographics.com.au - far cheaper than my local stores (Ted's, Fletcher's and Camera House).

My brother-in-law has used http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/

Good luck - a trip to Singapore can be cheaper than to the US with the same outcome! Lol.
--
George in OZ

I'm an Aussie living in Spain, but when i return next year, i'll just import from the states. I have imported loads of things, expensive things from Adorama and i have never had a problem, and have saved thousands of dollars in doing so! lol!

The exchange rate is your friend you have to take advantage of it. Don't get angry at the local stores, they are charging what the majority of people are still prepared to pay (which absolutely stuns me!).

The Aussie dollar is absolutely kicking save yourself some big money and you can buy your wife something nice as well.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lightavail